Auditions: May 23/24/25
Rehearsals: Tue/Wed/Thu in June & July times TBD
Performances: July 21/22/23
Registration information coming soon! Please check the Moana event page for more information.
Questions? Email [email protected].
A few years ago during Autism Awareness month, when Glen Ellyn resident Christine Pope Guare decided to co-host a soap party to raise funds in honor of her son Tucker, she had no idea that her efforts would eventually help many other local children.
The mother of three boys — Patrick, a 7th grader at Hadley; Tucker, a 5th grader at Churchill; and Denny, a 3rd grader at Churchill — Christine wanted to do something for children who, like her son Tucker, have an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Co-hosting with her friend Hilary Bergamini, Christine invited “Tucker’s Tribe” to the party. Tucker’s Tribe is an extended family of people who are dedicated to helping Tucker grow and thrive. (These include the Pope, Schaffnit, Short, Snyder and Purdom families). Christine and Hilary sold handmade soaps from Hilary’s company The Bar Above and donated the proceeds to Autism Speaks.
After this first fundraiser, Christine watched Tucker flourish as a student in District 41. “Tucker is somehow thriving,” she explains. “We take each moment in a dose, each day, each month. Sometimes you step forward, back and to the side … but we move forward.”
Feeling grateful, Christine then decided to donate to a cause closer to home: the D41 Kids Foundation. She has since put together two more “soap parties,” both to benefit D41 Kids.
She says, “It feels good to give back to our own community.”
If you would like to read a collection of funny, challenging, and inspiring stories about Tucker, his brothers, and life in general, check out Christine’s blog Swearing Lady. Please note: Christine is all about keeping it real and raw, in vivid and sometimes salty language. Hence, the title of her blog! (So you know you’re getting all the really good, nitty gritty details.)
Thank you to Christine and all our other generous supporters who demonstrate their caring commitment to our greatest resource — our children — by donating to D41 Kids Foundation!
You care about kids — or you wouldn’t be here! We can’t thank you enough for your caring commitment. For kids in District 41, your generosity is a lifeline.
Because of you, this summer was more than just a time for area kids to laze around in the sun. It was also a wonderful period of enrichment and social development — which are critically important for healthy, happy, and confident growing children.
All of this was fostered by the D41 Kids Foundation’s production of The Lion King — a youth theater summer musical that was staged four times, twice each on August 5th and 6th, at Parkview Community Church in Glen Ellyn. Directed by Gina Wood, The Lion King gave local kids a wealth of experience in communication, dedication, resilience, and good, clean fun. Countless children who were initially reluctant to audition learned the benefits of hard work and teamwork. They made new friends (including ones from different schools), nurtured new passions previously outside their comfort zones, memorized and delivered lines with emotion and aplomb, and analyzed a rich text from multiple angles. The cast included 90 D41 kids from grades K-8. (There were no cuts.) Six Glenbard West and Hadley theater students volunteered to assist as stage crew. The Lion King proved to be a hot ticket. Over 1,200 tickets were sold. Many people are already asking about next summer’s musical. When we have information on that front, you’ll be among the first to know! Local support from family and corporate sponsors was also strong. Sixteen family sponsors gave $50-300. Twelve corporate Spotlight Sponsors gave $300. Seven Producer’s Club sponsors gave $500. And there were five donations of services or products. Altogether, there were 40 sponsors who generously donated money, time, goods, and/or services. This support is a wonderful testament to the strength and caring of our community. We are so grateful for you — and the children are inspired by your shining example!
Last but certainly not least, thank you very much to all who entered the raffle to benefit the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) that provides free books monthly for D41 kids from birth to age 5. The grand prize, a beautifully crafted bookcase made by Jason Loebach – Vice President of the D41 School Board and a stunning quilt handmade by Dr. Lynn Bruno — one of the Founders and Chairperson of D41 Kids Foundation — was during the raffle graciously displayed at The Bookstore and Chocolaterie Stam in downtown Glen Ellyn. The winner of the quilt was Kate Marsh, a longtime resident of Glen Ellyn, whose 2nd grade daughter debuted in the production as a Bird! With 75 raffle entrants, $4,347 was raised. This will carry the cost of the DPIL library and put books in D41 kids’ hands for approximately 6 months. To date, the D41 Kids Foundation affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has mailed 3,976 books to 398 children in our district since our inception in June of 2021!
What a wonderful summer it was — thank you for helping to make so many good things happen for our precious children!
The winner of the quilt was Kate Marsh, a longtime resident of Glen Ellyn, whose 2nd grade daughter debuted in the production as a Bird! With 75 raffle entrants, $4,347 was raised. This will carry the cost of the DPIL library and put books in D41 kids’ hands for approximately 6 months. To date, the D41 Kids Foundation affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library has mailed 3,976 books to 398 children in our district since our inception in June of 2021!
We are thrilled to announce the title of our summer production, THE LION KING
Please help put more books in D41 kids’ hands by signing up today for the D41 Kids Foundation 2022 raffle!
Not only will you be there for our neighborhood children, you’ll also have the chance to win yourself a custom bookcase and handmade child’s quilt – perfect for budding readers!
The beautiful bookshelf is handmade by our very own Jason Loebach, Vice President of D41 School Board.
The lovely child’s quilt is handmade by Lynn Bruno, President of the D41 Kids Foundation.
How much does it cost to sponsor a child and enter the raffle?
Only $27!
The winning raffle ticket will be pulled on August 6th at the D41 Kids Foundation Summer Musical in Glen Ellyn (location yet to be determined). You do not need to be present to win!
So won’t you please sign up for the raffle today and sponsor 1, 2, or even more children to set them up for a lifetime of success?
We are so excited you’ve decided to register for the D41 Kids Foundation Summer Musical fundraiser.
Don’t be nervous, we are so excited to have you audition and EVERYONE will have a role in our show! We welcome all district 41 students of all grade levels to participate. Graduating 8th graders welcome to register too! Our production will be determined by participants (or cast size) and announced as soon as possible.
Registration Fee of $150 includes t-shirt, cast party and some cast meals.
Auditions will be on a flexible schedule the week of June 6th. (Zoom/Facetime auditions available for anyone who cannot attend that week) We want you to have the best audition you can! If we can be of any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Most rehearsals will be in the afternoons in June and July, but we will have some flexibility with times depending on conflicts and cast size. A rehearsal schedule will be released so you know when your little actor needs to be present. Location to be determined.
As of now, performance dates are the first week of August, such as Aug 4, 5, 6 and 7th
Please contact us if you need financial assistance; scholarships are available.
As the sun sets on 2021, the board of the D41 Kids Foundation looks back on (yet another!) unprecedented year with gratitude for all that we were able to accomplish this past year with the generous help of our donors and supporters during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the beginning of 2021, during a time when we could only meet virtually via Zoom to plan, we curated, created and sold 253 Valentine boxes to community members to raise $2,500 for the Foundation. Each box contained several gift items from local businesses in an effort not only to raise funds for our foundation, but also to support local businesses during the pandemic. Extra appreciation for our partners in this project: Two Hound Red, Marche, Gather & Collect, The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn, The Glen Ellyn Sweet Shoppe, bench492, Locally Made, Learning Express, House of Graphics, and the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce.
In May, to support the work of the Glen Ellyn District 41 Schools, we established a Dolly Parton Imagination Library affiliate serving all children from birth through age 4 who live within the District 41 school boundaries. Free personalized, age-appropriate books are mailed to every registered child each month. The program is free to parents and guardians, being funded solely by the D41 Kids Foundation’s generous donors. Since its launch, we have raised $18,614, and registered 343 students for this program, hoping to register another 285 by July of 2022.
Forty-six students have already “graduated” out of the program by turning 5. Extra thanks to The Rotary of Glen Ellyn, The Bookstore of Glen Ellyn and the Glen Ellyn Public Library for their support of this on-going program.
In the fall, we planned, organized and hosted our first annual D41 Kids Golf Outing and Dinner held at Reserve 22 in Glen Ellyn. Twenty-one sponsors, 16 golf foursomes and 81 dinner attendees helped us to raise $7,863 at this outing. A huge thank you to all those who supported this inaugural event with a very special thanks to the band Afternoon Logic (featuring teacher Amy Bishop of Lincoln Elementary) for their amazing musical performance that evening.
Throughout the year, we raised a total of $67,836 in our fundraising endeavors. With those monies, the Foundation was able to provide $24,279 on rental assistance to our most vulnerable families, $5,100 on food cards and other essentials for families in need by partnering with Community Outreach, and $20,130 for our Dolly Parton Imagination Library affiliate, enough to cover the cost of 689 children for a year.
As we slowly and hopefully emerge out of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope to focus even more steadfastly on our Foundation’s mission in 2022,
“To strengthen public education in District 41 through advocacy for and investment in programs that ensure equity and initiatives that enrich and drive sustainable lifelong learning” by continuing to pragmatically and aspirationally answer the educational needs of our children.
We thank you so much for your support in the past year and humbly ask for you to consider a donation to our Foundation as you consider your end-of-year charitable giving.
You can do so by going to https://d41kids.org/Donate/
We look forward to brighter, stronger days ahead.
With appreciation,
The Board of the D41 Kids Foundation
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D41 Kids planned, organized and hosted our first annual D41 Kids Golf Outing and Dinner held at Reserve 22 in Glen Ellyn. Twenty-one sponsors, 16 golf foursomes and 81 dinner attendees helped us to raise $7,863 at this outing.
A huge thank you to all those who supported this inaugural event with a very special thanks to the band Afternoon Logic (featuring teacher Amy Bishop of Lincoln Elementary) for their amazing musical performance that evening.
Please join D41Kids Foundation at their first annual golf outing on September 23rd at the Village Links. Golf registration begins at 12:30 with Dinner following at 7PM.
Each golfer will receive range balls, golf, dinner, and two drink tickets.
Hole Sponsorship includes business signage at the hole.
D41 Kids raised $11,124 on the quilt raffle with 412 tickets sold to 135 entrants.
In May, to support the work of the Glen Ellyn District 41 Schools, we established a Dolly Parton Imagination Library affiliate serving all children from birth through age 4 who live within the District 41 school boundaries. Free personalized, age-appropriate books are mailed to every registered child each month. The program is free to parents and guardians, being funded solely by the D41 Kids Foundation’s generous donors.
Since its launch, we have raised $18,614, and registered 343 students for this program, hoping to register another 285 by July of 2022.
D41 Kids recently launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Please help us fund this endeavor so that all our children can receive the gift of literacy.
For only $27.00, a child receives 12 personalized books a year. That’s right! For the cost of less than 4 lattes at Starbucks, you can gift 12 books to a child! And it’s tax deductible!!!
For a limited time, the D41 Kids Foundation will assign you one raffle ticket for every child you sponsor for the chance to win a gorgeous D41 Kids Foundation Imagination Library Quilt made by Dr. Lynn Bruno! That’s the potential of 2 gifts for $27.00 – 12 books to a child and a warm and cuddly quilt to gift to your favorite child!
As Dolly says, “You can never get enough books into the hands of enough children.”
You know it’s true! And for $27 a child, it’s absolutely possible!
Click on the link below to purchase the raffle ticket:
https://rafflecreator.com/page
The raffle drawing for the quilt will take place at the inaugural golf fundraiser sponsoring the D41Kids Foundation on Sept. 23 at Village Links.
You need not be present to win.
Contact Dr. Lynn Bruno, Vice Chairperson of D41 Kids Foundation
[email protected]